In the European Championship semi-finals, the Netherlands will battle it out with England for a place in the final. Ahead of the match, Netherlands defender Nathan Aké, currently playing for Manchester City, pointed out in an interview with UEFA that England is a strong team, but the Netherlands has an advantage: knowing their opponent better.
After winning the championship in 1988, the Netherlands reached the semi-finals of the European Championships in 1992, 2000, and 2004, but always fell short. This time, the Netherlands hopes to avoid tragedy and will rely on players like Aké, who currently plays for Manchester City and has a deep understanding of English players. Aké stated: “The past games are over, we need to look ahead. England has many players, we know them through the Premier League, we know their individual quality and technical characteristics. It’s a European Championship semi-final, it’s going to be very difficult!”
Of England’s 26 players, 24 come from the Premier League, with only Bellingham and Kane being exceptions – and Kane, playing for Bayern Munich, is also a renowned figure in the Premier League. Not to mention the current status of the Premier League, most football players have watched countless Premier League matches. Just to point out, the Netherlands also has nine players who play in the Premier League, including Van Dijk and Gakpo, naturally, the Netherlands has a better understanding of this opponent.
Half of the Netherlands’ 26 players come from La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and the Dutch league, including star players like De Vrij, Simons, and De Ligt, who haven’t played in the Premier League. It’s hard to imagine that the star players of the Three Lions would have watched a lot of Eredivisie matches. This could create a disadvantage for England, as some players may lack understanding of certain Dutch national team members.
In conclusion, Aké believes that the Netherlands, with this advantage, is not necessarily the “underdog” in this semi-final. He said: “We had a tough start to the tournament, but now we are building momentum. We are ready for the next tough test. Are the Netherlands the underdog compared to England? It doesn’t matter, we focus on trying to perform well. We know what we need to do, we are very close to realizing our dreams.”
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